The researchers did not find the results surprising, because the military has a new mental health screening program for returning soldiers and is encouraging them to get help early to prevent serious problems later, said study co-author Dr. Charles Hoge, a colonel at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Because of the new screening program, the findings cannot be compared to those from previous wars, Hoge said.

"There are psychological consequences of war and we want to address those up front," Hoge said. "The hope is we won't have as high rates of mental health consequences as we've seen in prior wars."

Call for Increased Spending

Thirty-five percent of Iraq veterans received mental health care during their first year home, according to the study. In addition, 12 percent of the more than 222,000 returning Army soldiers and Marines in the study were diagnosed with a mental problem.

Nineteen percent of those back from Iraq reported mental health concerns, compared with 11 percent of those back from Afghanistan and 8.5 percent of those returning from other places, such as Bosnia.

The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Veterans' advocates said the study supports their call for increased spending on mental health care for Iraq veterans.

President George W. Bush's budget plan includes a 6 percent increase in spending for the Department of Veterans Affairs. But some in Congress say that is not enough because the increase hinges on more than $1 billion (